First home buyers in Queensland
Queensland gives first home buyers two things. The First Home Owner Grant is $30,000 for a newly built home valued under $750,000. The first home concession means no transfer duty (stamp duty) on a home up to $700,000, and less duty up to $799,999. The grant is for new homes only; the duty concession isn't. Both have conditions on living in the home, and from 1 August 2026 the duty concession needs you to be a citizen or permanent resident.
What Queensland first home buyers can claim
The First Home Owner Grant. $30,000 for a newly built home valued under $750,000, including the land and any contract variations. For contracts signed from 20 November 2023.
The first home concession on transfer duty. No duty on a home valued at $700,000 or less. Partial relief from $700,001 to $799,999. None from $800,000.
The 5% Deposit Scheme. Federal, not state: buy with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, up to $1,000,000 in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and $700,000 in the rest of Queensland.
The $30,000 grant, and who misses out
The grant is only for a new home: one that's never been lived in or sold as a home, whether you buy it finished or build it. Buy an established home and there's no grant, whatever the price.
The home's value must be under $750,000, counting the land and any variations to the building contract. A build that creeps over the limit with variations loses the grant. Before 20 November 2023 the grant was $15,000; contracts signed since get $30,000.
The grant's conditions
Move in within a year of the purchase or build being completed, and live there for 6 months in a row.
Be 18 or older, buying as a person, not a company or trust.
Be a citizen or permanent resident, or be buying with someone who is.
Not have owned a home before. Neither you nor your spouse can have owned a home in Australia that you lived in since 1 July 2000, or any home in Australia before then.
The first home concession on transfer duty
Queensland calls stamp duty "transfer duty". The first home concession cuts it, or removes it, depending on the home's value.
| Home value | Transfer duty |
|---|---|
| $700,000 or less | None, a saving of up to $24,525 |
| $700,001 to $799,999 | Reduced, tapering off from $710,000 |
| $800,000 or more | No first home concession; the general home concession may still apply |
On a $730,000 home, for example, the Queensland Revenue Office works the duty out at $6,555.
The concession's conditions
Citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree, for transactions from 1 August 2026. This test is new, and older pages don't mention it.
Never held an interest in any other home, in Australia or overseas. A home owned abroad counts.
Move in within 1 year of settlement, with your belongings, and live there day to day. The Queensland Revenue Office says this time can't be extended.
Don't rent out the whole home in the first year, or sell, transfer or lease it before you move in. Renting out part of it, such as a room, is allowed where the arrangement started on or after 10 September 2024.
Pay market value if the price is between $700,001 and $799,999. A cheap sale within the family fails in that band.
Not have claimed the first home vacant land concession before.
Buying established, or buying new
An established home. No grant. The transfer duty concession still applies, so a home at $700,000 or less pays no duty.
A new home. The grant, if it's under $750,000, and the duty concession as well. On a new home at $700,000 or less, you can get both in full.
What the whole package is worth
An illustration, not a client file. A first buyer pays $700,000 for a newly built home in Brisbane. The grant is $30,000. Transfer duty is nil, a saving of up to $24,525. Through the 5% Deposit Scheme, a $35,000 deposit is enough, and the price is under the $1,000,000 limit for Brisbane. That's $54,525 of Queensland help on a purchase with a $35,000 deposit.
Buy an established home at the same price instead, and the grant falls away. The duty saving and the deposit scheme still apply.
When to apply, and when the money arrives
Check every condition before you sign. The grant, the duty concession and the 5% Deposit Scheme each have their own test.
Lodge the grant, usually through your lender, or directly with the Queensland Revenue Office.
Claim the duty concession through your conveyancer or solicitor, who applies it when the duty is assessed.
Plan your deposit without the grant. It's usually paid at settlement, or at the first progress payment on a build, so it can't pay the deposit when you sign.
Move in on time. Within 1 year for both, and live there for at least the time each one requires.
Queensland first home buyer questions
$30,000 for a newly built home valued under $750,000, including land and contract variations, for contracts signed from 20 November 2023 (Queensland Revenue Office, page updated 5 August 2026).
Buying your first home in Queensland?
Tell me where you're buying, roughly the price, whether it's new or established, and what you've saved. I'll tell you what the grant, the duty concession and the 5% Deposit Scheme would give you, and what to have in place before you sign.
You'll hear back within the hour in business hours, and by 9am the next business day after hours.
Sources
- 1
Queensland Revenue Office, First Home Owner Grant eligibility (updated 5 August 2026). Checked 2 October 2026.
https://
qro.qld.gov.au/ property-concessions-grants/ first-home-grant/ eligibility/ - 2
Queensland Revenue Office, First home concession, transfer duty (updated 31 July 2026). Checked 2 October 2026.
https://
qro.qld.gov.au/ duties/ transfer-duty/ concessions/ homes/ first-home/ - 3
Queensland Revenue Office, Concession rates, transfer duty (updated 31 July 2026). Read 5 September 2026, re-checked 2 October 2026.
https://
qro.qld.gov.au/ duties/ transfer-duty/ calculate/ concession-rates/ - 4
Housing Australia, 5% Deposit Scheme guide dated 1 July 2026. Checked 29 September 2026.
Updated 2 October 2026